MIT Lecture Series Committee

Push for Peace: Human Rights and Indigenous Communities in Chiapas, Mexico

FREE Admission. Co-sponsored by the MIT Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, MISTI-Mexico, the Legatum Center, LCC, and LUChA.

A talk by Pedro Faro of the Frayba Human Rights Center. In Spanish with English translation.

Pedro Faro will provide economic, political and social analysis of human rights in Chiapas, Mexico with commentary of appropriate technology solutions in order to build sustainable, autonomous communities.

As popular organizations wage peaceful struggles against paramilitary violence, tourism projects that will displace campesinos, and illegal land takeovers, Pedro and his colleagues at the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center are one of the few reliable sources on human rights abuses. Under attack from paramilitary groups, local PRI affiliates, the army, and state and federal governments, the Frayba Center produces daily reports on human rights, defends cases in court and supports indigenous communities under attack.

During his talk, Pedro will discuss the current human rights situation in Chiapas and Mexico, as well as the prospects for political changes in 2010. Pedro will provide in-depth discussion and analysis about his work in promoting the indivisibility of human rights, respect for cultural diversity and the right of autonomous self-determination, integral justice as a prerequisite for peace, and the development of a culture of dialogue, tolerance, and reconciliation.

Handicrafts made by autonomous women's cooperatives in Chiapas will be available for purchase.